The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely sophisticated devices that may be found in many different settings. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware (e.g., semiconductors, circuit boards, etc.) and software (e.g., computer programs). As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer hardware higher, more sophisticated computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
Years ago, computers were isolated devices that did not communicate with each other. But today, computers are increasingly connected via networks. One common use for these networks is instant messaging, also known as chat, in which a user at one computer communicates with a user at another computer via the network. A user who is chatting from a first computer may sometimes desire to switch to second computer, yet still maintain the same chat session with another user at a third computer. For example, a user may start a chat session at the user's office computer (the first computer), but then desire to continue the chat session from another computer (the second computer) in a conference room. Unfortunately, this move between computers necessitates starting a new chat session at the second computer, but the user at the second computer cannot see the previous chat data that occurred at the first computer. Hence, the user loses contextual information that may be helpful. This information may contain any form of data, including, but not limited to text, graphics, sound, and video.
In an attempt to address this problem, some users employ a special application at the second computer, such as a remote desktop, to log on to the first computer and access the chat session at the first computer remotely. But, this technique requires a special application and also requires the overhead of accessing the chat session at the first computer remotely instead of the simplicity of starting a new chat session at the second computer. Further, a firewall at the first or the second computer may make this technique difficult or impossible.
Thus, without a better way to move chat sessions between computers, users will continue to suffer from inconvenience and loss of chat data.